Role of Educational Attainment of Mothers in Child Delivery, Post Natal Check-Up, and Child Immunization in Urban India: A Study in the Context of Child Health

Abstract

Child birth, postnatal check-up, and immunization are essential components of child health. In this context, the role of educational attainment of mothers becomes very important, especially in the develo** countries like India. A considerable percentage of mothers are either illiterate or less educated even in urban areas, despite the availability of suitable educational and health facilities. In fact, there is well known relationship between mother’s education and maternal-cum-child health. The mother is considered as the most important household-level health worker. The performance of a mother as a household-level health worker depends mainly on her educational attainment and health-related awareness. It is believed that educated mothers are generally more aware in taking care of their health, which is prerequisite for delivering a healthy child. Place of delivery (institutional and home) is linked with the health of the mother as well as the child. Home birth increases the risk of maternal and neonatal mortality because the delivery is assisted by less skilled attendants. Still, in urban India, a substantial percentage of deliveries take place at home. Immunization of children against vaccine-preventable diseases can reduce child mortality to a great extent. Educational attainment of mothers plays an important role in proper compliance of immunization schedules. The first 2 days after delivery are crucial for the mothers and new-born babies. Most of the neonatal deaths occur during this period. In light of the above, this paper aims at: establishing relationship between educational attainment of mothers and the place of delivery of child in urban India; assessing the impact of educational attainment of mothers on immunization of children aged 12–23 months; and investigating the effect of mother’s educational attainment on the postnatal check-up of mother and new-born baby. This paper is based on the secondary data obtained from the National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS-4), 2015–16. The findings show that the educational attainment of mothers is highly correlated with the place of delivery. The institutional delivery is preferred by educated mothers. Furthermore, improving maternal education is important for increasing child vaccination uptake and coverage. The role of educational attainment of mothers in postnatal check-up is also evident.